The road to becoming a successful
entrepereneur was marked by hard work and determination for
one local television station owner, Gary Cocola, owner of
Cocola Broadcasting
Companies.
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The Craig School of Business at
California State University, Fresno, recently recognized his
model of success. Cocola was selected as the Entrepreneur in
Residence for the year 2000. The Entrepreneur in Residence
Program was established in 1998, and is a program of the Craig
School, hosted by the Institute for Developing
Entrepreneurial Action, and funded by the Coleman Foundation.
Each year, a successful entrepreneur is selected and asked to
share his experience with students, faculty and the
community.
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Timothy Stearns, PH.D., the
Coleman Chair for Entrepreneurial Studies at Fresno State
feels that Cocola is more than deserving of the accolade.
"He embodies the best of the entrepreneurial spirit in the
Central Valley," Stearns said.
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In
his role as Entrepreneur in Residence, Cocola donates his time
to share his business success story and to give valuable tips
and advice to business students and entrepreneurs. Last
November, he visited the Fresno State campus for one week and
spoke to students and faculty at the Craig School. He also
agve a presentation to the graduates of the Entrepreneurial
Resource Center, and tenants of the Central Valley Business
Incubator (CVBI).
"I thoroughly enjoyed talking to the students. I want to
instill the entrepreneurial philosophy into their minds and to
teach them to never give up," Cocola said. "It was a great
pleasure for me, and I see it as a way to give back and let
others benefit from my success."
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Cocola grew up working on his father's farm,
adopting hard work ethics and learning the skills
involved in basic entrepreneurship. However, rather than
pursuing a career in the farming industry, Cocola said he was
always fascinated by television and
broadcasting.
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He gained his first experience
with the television business at the age of 17 while working
for a local television station. From 1956 until 1958, he
worked as a panelist on a local program called KFRE-TV Channel
12, called Open House with Al Radka. His job was to
judge new records for a program calles Traffic Pops.
He then became a co-host of the television program called
TV Record Hop, a local dance-party
show.
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After getting a taste of local
celebrity, Cocola was determined to pursue a career in the
television business. However, after his agent made him aware
of the limited shelf life of a television star, he decided to
put that idea on
hold.
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Cocola went into the sales
business instead and began to sell fresh produce for his
father. Although his own produce business was very successful,
the work didn't fulfill him. As a result, he decided to return
to his original field of interest. This time, he approached it
from a different angle and decided to create his own
television
station. |
One of the
major obstacles that Cocola faced along the way was the
bureaucracy of the government application process. He applied
to have a new station in Fresno, but he had to wait seven
years before the Federal Communication Commission granted him
a
license.
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The next
challenge was to acquire the funding to build the station. He
had a hard time convincing a sponsor who was willing to
support his million-dollar project. However, his vision
inspired him to keep
going.
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Cocola explains,
"You need stamina, fortitude and a positive attitude to
advance. I kept moving until I found a
sponsor."
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his
persistence finally paid off, and he was granted the start-up
money from a local bank. After seven years of planning, hif
first station, Channel 59, KMSG-TV went on the air. Channel 59
offered broadcasting of 24-hour Christian television
programming.
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Since then, his business has
continued to grow and evolve. Today Cocola Broadcasting runs
over 20 stations with nine stations in Fresno, three in
Bakersfield, two in Sacramento, one in Santa Maria, Visalia,
and Arroyo Grande, and three in Boise,
Idaho. |
His entertainment and HomeShopping
Television Channels attract a loyal television audience. The
Home Shopping Television Network offers various items such as
house wares, clothing, jewelry, and electronics for sale,
24-hours-a-day. Cocola's personal favorite station is MTV2,
the music channel 34.
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In July 2000, Cocola entered the
Internet business with discounttvspots.com. This Web site
offers discounted production of television commercials for
small business owners who often do not have the resources to
spend on television
advertising.
"We sell advertising on eight of our
local stations in Fresno for $4.99 per 30 second commercial,"
Cocola explains. "Results have been
fantastic!" |
Cocola has
many words of advice for young entrepreneurs. He often works
10 to 11 hours a day and it is not uncommon for him to work on
weekends. He says that entrepreneurs must be prepared to put
in long hours of work. In addition, Cocola recommends
entrepreneurs to look for a mentor. |
His own experience taught him how
valuable a mentor's advice and direction can be. His mentor,
Paul Bartlett, a Fresno broadcasting expert, helped him to
achieve his goals and make the right decisions. He credits
Bartlett with preventing him from giving up 51% of his rights
to the station in order to receive the funding he desperately
needed. |
He also recommends that
entrepreneurs seek a support network, like CVBI, to provide
resources and
counseling.
"I encourage all entrepreneurs to go
there. They can receive help in many ways, especially with
financing. CVBI helps keep people and their ideas in the
valley," he
said. |
However, his biggest encouragement is to follow
one's
dream:
"Find something you really love to do.
Then work becomes
fun." |
The
Entrepreneur's
Journal article Monday, April 9, 2001
reprinted with permission
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